father’s final hours, a son’s farewell: Tarique Rahman faces scrutiny over custodial death

Sanjoy Kumar Barua

The last words Zihadur Rahman Salman wanted to say to his father did not come beside a hospital bed or at a graveside.

They came through a mobile phone.

As mourners gathered in Patuakhali to bury Mizanur Rahman Monir, Salman’s voice travelled to the funeral ground through an audio message. The son was absent, but his grief was heard by those who came to say goodbye.

Salman spoke about a lifetime spent walking beside his father to the funerals of other people. He spoke about a farewell he had imagined differently — one where he would be there.

But when his own father died, he said, he could not stand beside him.

“Even when my father was facing death in the ICU, his handcuffs were not removed,” Salman said in the recording.

Mourners listened as his words were played, according to people present at the funeral.

Monir, 48, died at 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after nearly two months in the intensive care unit, according to his family.

During those final weeks, his family says, he remained under custody and was treated while a handcuff was attached to his wrist.

A photograph showing Monir lying in an ICU bed with what appeared to be a handcuff around his right wrist spread widely on social media before his death. His family says the restraint remained on him for about a month after he was admitted to hospital.

The circumstances surrounding the restraint have not been independently verified.

But the image and the allegations surrounding Monir’s final days have brought renewed attention to a wider question in Bangladesh: how the state treats those who fall into its custody.

In Patuakhali, where Monir spent much of his political life, residents remembered him not only through his political affiliations but also through his interactions with local people.

Jahirul Haque, 70, said Monir was someone who helped others.

“Monir was very helpful,” Haque said.

Another local resident, who asked not to be identified, said people were increasingly worried about law and order and alleged that Monir had been killed in custody.

Monir was a member of Bangladesh’s Awami League and had held several positions connected to the party.

He served as general secretary of the Sadar Upazila Jubo League, organisational secretary of the district Jubo League, a member of the district Chhatra League and a member of the district Awami League.

He also served as vice-chairman of Patuakhali Sadar Upazila Parishad and vice-president of the Bangladesh Rural Development and Cooperatives Federation.

His death comes as Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman faces scrutiny over political violence, deaths in custody and allegations of human rights violations.

The Bangladesh-based human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra says it has documented at least 66 politically linked killings during the past six months. It has also recorded 61 deaths in police or prison custody and 11 alleged extrajudicial killings.

Abu Ahmed Faizul Kabir, a senior ASK official, told Agence France-Presse that deaths in prisons and police custody appeared to be increasing.

The government rejects the suggestion that the overall security situation is deteriorating.

Officials say some killings now being reported happened earlier but were not reported at the time because families feared retaliation or did not feel safe approaching police. They say increased reporting may explain part of the rise in recorded cases.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament in late June that the government had achieved historically improved results across most law-and-order indicators since taking office.

Monir’s journey into custody began after the political upheaval of August 2024, when Sheikh Hasina’s government fell following mass protests.

According to relatives, Monir went into hiding after the change in government.

Detective Branch police arrested him on Sept. 14 last year in Dhaka’s Mintu Road area, his family said.

Eight cases were later filed against him — six in Dhaka and two in Patuakhali Sadar, according to relatives.

His family says he secured bail in individual cases but was subsequently shown as arrested in other cases, keeping him in custody for about 11 months.

He eventually obtained bail in the cases one by one.

On July 30, a court granted him bail in the final case against him, according to his family.

By then, he was critically ill and remained in the ICU.